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One of Boris Johnson’s most loyal allies, Lee Cain, is in the running to become Downing Street chief of staff, in a move that would consolidate the power of former Vote Leave officials over the prime minister.
Cain’s appointment, which is not confirmed, is likely to cause trouble in Westminster, even among special advisers and ministers who expected an outsider to be appointed to the key role.
Whitehall sources said Cain’s appointment as chief of staff, first reported by the Times, was far from certain. Various government sources expressed surprise at the idea of Cain being considered.
Cain, currently the communications director for No. 10, is a longtime adviser to Johnson, including during his time as foreign secretary and while on the bench after his resignation.
Cain, a former tabloid journalist, has been close to the prime minister’s adviser Dominic Cummings since he worked on Vote Leave, and is partly credited with bringing him to Downing Street.
A new chief of staff is expected to take over the day-to-day running of the Downing Street operation, currently overseen by Cummings, to allow him to step back and focus on key policy goals such as Whitehall reform.
If Cain were cast, Johnson’s inner circle would be Cain, Cummings, as well as Edward Lister, chief strategic advisor and cabinet secretary, Simon Case.
Runners and cyclists who have been tipped for the role, including Isaac Levido, the Australian protégé of conservative election guru Lynton Crosby who ran the 2019 election campaign, Johnson’s foreign policy adviser John Bew, Paul Stephenson, another Vote Leave veteran, and Gabriel Milland a former spad and close to Cummings who now runs the Public First agency.
However, some of those rumored to be in demand for the role of number 10 run their own lucrative communications operations and would need to be convinced to join the government. Andrew Feldman, the former chairman of the Conservative party, has rejected any proposal to persuade him to apply for the role.
Cain caused a stir earlier this year when political journalists boycotted a Downing Street briefing after it banned selected journalists from attending.
The showdown took place within No. 10 after Cain tried to exclude reporters from the Mirror, the i, HuffPost, PoliticsHome, The Independent and others from an official government briefing. Labor accused Johnson of employing tactics similar to Donald Trump’s to avoid scrutiny.
Those who turned down the briefing on UK trade negotiations with the EU included Laura Kuenssberg from the BBC, Robert Peston from ITV and political journalists from Sky News, Daily Mail, Telegraph, The Sun, Financial Times and The Guardian.
The briefing was to be given by government officials, who were to be politically neutral, but did not happen due to the strike.
In his current role, Cain has been increasingly centralizing government communications in Downing Street and intends to significantly reduce the number of officials dealing with the press.
She will oversee the new Downing Street spokesperson, Allegra Stratton, who will be the face of the newly televised daily Downing Street press conferences. Stratton, who is currently an adviser to Chancellor Rishi Sunak, will organize daily briefings for political journalists.
